Liverpool will be expecting to maintain their perfect record in this season’s Europa League when they host Toulouse at Anfield on Thursday evening.
Jurgen Klopp‘s side have beaten LASK Linz and Union Saint-Gilloise in their opening two fixtures, while they maintained their place in the Premier League’s top four by beating their Merseyside rivals Everton at the weekend.
Toulouse, meanwhile, are unbeaten in the Europa League, having claimed a 1-1 draw away to Union SG before defeating LASK. They are 10th in the Ligue 1 table with 11 points from their opening nine games.
Andrew Robertson sustained a serious shoulder injury while playing for Scotland against Spain on international duty last week, with Klopp confirming ahead of the Merseyside derby that the left-back is set to undergo surgery to correct the issue.
As a result, the 29-year-old is not expected to feature again for club or country for the rest of the calendar year, with it being likely that he will miss around three months of action.
Thiago Alcantara has not featured for Liverpool since coming off the bench against West Ham United towards the end of April, having since undergone surgery on a persistent hip flexor issue.
The Spain midfielder was expected to return to action last month, but he suffered another setback, and it seems unlikely that we will see him until after the next international break in November.
Stefan Bajcetic was also injured towards the end of last season, with a thigh issue curtailing his impressive breakthrough, but he has featured twice for Liverpool during the current campaign.
However, after recovering from his previous thigh issue, Bajcetic injured his calf against Leicester City in the League Cup and has not been seen since. He should return to action within the next few weeks, but Thursday may come too soon for the youngster.
Ben Doak suffered a “little muscle” injury while on international duty with Scotland Under-21s, leading to him missing out on being named among the substitutes for Liverpool’s home match against Everton.
The 17-year-old is unlikely to be sidelined for too long, but returning to first-team action against Bournemouth in the EFL Cup next week may be more realistic.
Cody Gakpo twisted his knee prior to equalising against Tottenham Hotspur last month, leading to fears that the Dutch forward could miss several weeks of action as a result.
However, he was pictured returning to first-team action last week, leading to speculation that he may be involved in the Merseyside derby. That proved not to be the case, but he could be named in the matchday squad against Toulouse.
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